


Just Breathe

by SephirothNoMasamune



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: AU, AUish, Carlos returning, Desert Bluffs, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sharing a Bed, cecilos - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-24 12:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18571618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SephirothNoMasamune/pseuds/SephirothNoMasamune
Summary: -AU where Desert Bluffs is another country and Carlos has just returned home to Night Vale for the first time in months-





	Just Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I was really really missing my partners today so, I concocted this Cecilos to make me feel better :) I hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> Let me know if you want me to write more chapters for this! :)

Breathe in.

An overwhelming sense of nothingness permeated the air, only tainted by the smell of cigarette smoke. The man, sat on the stairs in an inconspicuous garden, winced as he took a drag, his lungs protesting with every drag of nicotine.

Breathe out.

The man sighed and ran his hands through his now long brown curls, barely being held up by a worn hair tie. The moonlight glittered in his impossibly dark irises, and his skin shone under its gentle caress. Carlos watched the smoke curl around the still night air, enraptured. He was trapped in his own world called science and he wasn’t able escape until now; that world was overrun with knowledge and discovery, but also loneliness and sorrow. Emotional pain lanced through his entire being, physically reminding him of that which he was forced to leave. Yes, scientifically speaking he could have chosen to stay; he could have chosen to leave earlier. But there was something that wouldn’t allow me to. There was just so much to discover about the indigenous community, after all, and he couldn’t bring himself to leave before he was truly satiated. The only problem was, he knew he would never truly be satisfied if he was without the one he loved most. He chuckled mirthlessly to himself: how unscientific, he thought. Of course he could operate without another person. Scientifically speaking, he would most likely work even more efficiently without his partner. Distraction is the arch nemesis of scientific discovery, right next to ethics, legal obligations and a need to sleep.

He glanced towards the glass doors holding the one he held dearest behind them. Smoking was a terrible habit, but it helped him get through the days. It also had been recently legalised in Nightvale, so he had no problem sitting directly in from of the SSP plant camera in their garden. I mean really, a palm tree? Not convincing at all. 

He knew that all it would take was a few steps and he would be reunited with them. Yet, something held him back. After all this time, would they truly still love me as I am? Emotions are nothing more than evolutionary instincts and various hormones colliding in the most bittersweet way. So scientifically speaking, those hormones could stop making those collisions and may not react in the same way to him as they did before.

Scientifically speaking, Cecil might not love him anymore. And that thought terrified his entire being.

Carlos startled as he saw the bathroom light flicker into being suddenly. The cigarette fell from his parted lips onto the lush green grass, burning a memento of his sorrow into the living organism. A part of his brain whispered scientific realisations about this moment: His palms moistened, his mouth became dry and his heart thundered impossibly loud in his chest; the grass had not screamed as it usually would when burned or stepped upon. It was now or never; and he desperately hoped it wasn’t ever never.

Carlos surged to his feet in a rare show of confidence and strode to the back door, hesitating for only a minute before unlocking the door with his key. The door groaned and creaked from misuse, but it allowed him entrance regardless. The whole kitchen was shrouded in darkness, and Carlos squinted to see in the impenetrable blackness. The scent of pizza assaulted his senses and it made his stomach growl in process. Honestly, airline food really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. 

Quietly, he shut the door behind him and strode through the room quasi confidently. He cursed softly under his breath as he walked into the table. Mentally he realised that the table had moved about 2 inches to the left, and that’s why he’d caused minor bruising. He filed that away in his brain for later and tried desperately not to get distracted by from the task at hand. Agitatedly he ran a hand through his chocolate brown locks, the hair tie finally giving up the ghost and snapping. It fell dejectedly to the floor but Carlos couldn’t care less at this point. He put his hand on the door and swung it inward...

Only to walk directly into the person behind the door. 

An unmanly screech came from the other figure as they fell to the floor in a dishevelled heap. Carlos winced and pushed his glasses up, catching the eye of the other man. Distantly Carlos noted that he had been babbling but had stopped when he realised exactly who was on top of him.

“Wait, Carlos... is it you? Is it really you? Oh, my sweet, perfect Carlos with the perfect hair, even more perfect now! If such a thing could be possible then I swear I am seeing it right now!” Cecil grinned widely and exuberantly, the soft light spilling from the landing bouncing off of his elated violet orbs. He brought a shaking hand up to the dark skin of his partner and grasped him hesitantly, as if he would disappear. “Oh sweet Carlos, please tell me it’s you.”

“Cecil...” Carlos started, his voice hoarse from emotion. He cleared his throat, a soft pink dander dancing across his cheekbones. How embarrassing that his vocal chords forgot at which rhythm to vibrate at in this crucial moment. “It’s me, Cecil. I’m... back. I’m back, for good.”

Cecil’s guarded expression instantly dropped and he threw his arms around the other exuberantly, holding him tight. He held him as if he expected him to disappear if he applied any less pressure. Carlos smiled, a truly beautiful yet crooked one, and leaned down fluidly. Cecil met his lips in the middle and kissed him solidly on the lips. They lost themselves in the sheer feel of the other, tears slipping from under closed eyelids and hands caressing flesh that had been untouched for months. Love and adoration rolled off of them both in waves, and The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home took a gnarly hand and wiped at her face, where tears would surely be if she had eyes. She then drifted off, intent on putting the moths she had collected from outside into the closet. 

They pulled away from each other and breathed in deeply sporting matching goofy smiles. “Carlos...”

“Oh Cecil, I could hear you say my name all day.” Carlos laughed lightly, a proverbial weight being lifted from his chest. “Oh Cecil, I just love you so much!”

Cecil grinned even wider at this and his skin seemed to glow from within. Was it really glowing, or was it metaphorical? In Nightvale, you can never really know. “My perfectly imperfect Carlos, I love you too.”

They stared each other for so long, they nearly broke the new legislation regarding eye contact. When they touched, Carlos would swear he could feel electricity through his veins. Logically he knew that it was merely his neurones being overstimulated by a surge of most likely oxytocin and dopamine production, but for once he wanted to listen to the romantic notion of a metaphysical connection. 

“Carlos, I have missed you so very, very much. You must be so tired, after travelling from that... place. Do you, do you want to sleep? With me?” Cecil’s eyes brightened up a little, but his face betrayed the innocence of his request as a soft blush bloomed atop his pale skin. Carlos grinned again, something he found he couldn’t stop doing, and nodded enthusiastically. 

Together they stood, arms around each other, and awkwardly made their way up the stairs. It was difficult but neither one could bear the thought of releasing the other from their embrace. Eventually they made it to the bedroom, crawling into bed together. Their limbs intertwined, the fell into a blissful sleep.

For the first time in a long time, Carlos was happy. He now knew that home was where the heart is, and no matter how hard he tried, his heart irrevocably belonged to Cecil now. Although, he knew he wouldn’t change that for the world. Not even Desert Bluffs and it’s wealth of scientific discovery could even compare to the bliss that he felt being so close to his lover again.

With matching smiles on their lips, they succumbed to the darkness.

——-  
Bonus  
——-

During the night, a groggy Cecil roused from his slumber. He realised he couldn’t move his limbs as easily and hissed softly in frustration. Had the SSP restrained him for having one too many existential crisis’ again? How many times did he have to tell them he’s been exempt for years, and this is completely legal for him. Cecil rubbed at his eye in annoyance and pulled back, his eyes taking in the visage of the man sleeping next to him.

He felt as if he had been zapped with an electric shock when he remembered the events of last night. His Carlos, his perfect, scientist boyfriend, had returned to him months earlier than his projection. They had spent the night in each other’s arms, whispering sweet promises of eternity and exchanging soft kisses. Cecil’s heart began to beat faster as a feeling of wholeness settled over his entire being. For the first time in a while, he finally felt whole again. Cecil laughed softly, quietly and grinned, a few wayward tears slipping from his wide open eyes. Light began to slip over the horizon as the sun screamed bloody murder at being awoken, yet again. Cecil merely swiped his tears away, the movement causing Carlos to frown in his sleep and pull the fair man closer. Cecil leaned down and pressed the barest of kissed to his smooth skin, smiling as he did so. 

“Welcome home, my sweet, perfect Carlos.’


End file.
